Fabric wall panels are used to decorate the interior walls in many buildings. Fabric coverings for the panels are available in numerous textures and patterns which can be coordinated with the furnishings and carpets in a room. These fabric wall panels can be customized to meet the decorating needs of various locations and decorating tastes.
Besides decorating versatility, fabric wall panels provide other desirable features. Such features include sound and heat insulation. Particularly, in large rooms such as auditoriums and theaters, fabric wall panels may include a layer of acoustical material hidden behind the fabrics which modifies the acoustical character of the room. In addition, heat insulating material may be mounted behind the fabrics to inhibit heat transfer properties of a wall. Particularly, a basement wall of a building may require heat insulation because of the constant cooling resulting from the outside of the basement wall being in direct contact with the surrounding earth.
One consideration in the selection and use of a fabric wall panel system is assuring a quality installation. Particularly, the wall panels should line up uniformly with each other, and the vertical mid-wall seams between adjacent wall panels should either be eliminated or attractively trimmed. With most fabric wall panel systems, the quality of installation including finish of the vertical mid-wall seams depends on the skill of the installer. Employing skilled installers increases the cost of the fabric wall panel system. Such a consideration is particularly of concern in connection with home installations such as in a basement where cost is a crucial factor or where the homeowner undertakes installation without professional help.
A further consideration in the selection and installation of a fabric wall panel system is the proper installation of attractive trim pieces for the crown molding, the baseboard molding, and the molding or millwork around doors, windows, and other openings. In order to facilitate correct installation of such trim pieces, the fabric wall panel system should provide for easy and accurate attachment of the trim pieces as well as the ability to replace damaged trim pieces without requiring removal of the wall panels.
Some prior fabric wall panels are installed in situ. For example, as disclosed in Baslow U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,260, border pieces of a panel are permanently attached to the wall to form a framework for mounting a fabric sheet. The fabric sheet completely covers the wall without being adhered to the wall itself. The linear border pieces include a key way into which the fabric is forced by means of a compressible spline. The linear border pieces also include a storage channel, which allows the border pieces to create a finished look at the edges. The Baslow patent does not disclose a method of fabric wall panel prefabrication. The uniformity of installation depends on the skill of the installer in terms of aligning the framework and forcing the fabric into the keyway so that the fabric is uniformly stretched on the framework.
In addition, fabric wall panels can be prefabricated. One method for installing prefabricated fabric wall panels employs a cross-nailing system as disclosed by the patent to Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,972. The fabric wall panels disclosed in the Anderson patent are prefabricated and then installed by driving two headless pin nails at an angle in a crossed fashion through the frame pieces of the prefabricated panels. The crossed nails penetrate completely through the fabric, partially penetrate the frame, and securely fasten the panel to the wall. A fabric wall panel attached using this cross-nailing method cannot be easily removed from the wall if one should desire to replace panels or remove the panels entirely. No provision is made for trimming the vertical mid-wall seams or eliminating the vertical mid-wall seams.
One successful removable fabric wall panel system is disclosed in Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,638. In that patent, the fabric wall panels are mounted on the wall by means of hangers. Each frame member of each wall panel has a spine with an elongated slit, a side edge, and a front edge which together define a groove. A flat filler insert is fitted within the groove of each frame member. Fabric is stretched over the frame and flat filler insert and is bonded to the back of the spine of each frame member to complete the finished fabric wall panel. The hanger has a flat base and a perpendicularly extending tongue with an enlarged head. A number of hangers are affixed on the wall using an adhesive. The slit on the frame of the fabric wall panel is aligned with the tongue of hanger on the wall, and the fabric wall panel is affixed to the wall by pressing the slit over the tongue on the hanger. The fabric wall panels can be prefabricated. The fabric wall panels can also be independently replaced or removed entirely by unsnapping the fabric wall panel from the supporting hangers. Again, no provision is made for trimming the vertical mid-wall seams or eliminating the vertical mid-wall seams.
Another successful fabric wall panel system has fabric wall panels that are removably mounted on the wall by means of a hanger. The frame of the fabric wall panel has a hollow channel along the edge of the frame member. The hollow channel engages the hanger, and the hanger thus holds each of the fabric wall panels in place on the wall. The frame members of adjacent wall panels are secured together to reduce the visibility of the mid-wall seams between the adjacent wall panels and to ensure a uniform width for the mid-wall seams between adjacent wall panels. Again, no provision is made for trimming the vertical mid-wall seams or eliminating the vertical seams.
The prior art has thus failed to disclose an easy to install fabric wall panel system in which the vertical mid-wall seams are trimmed or eliminated. In addition, the prior art does not disclose a trim piece attachment strip for removably installing architectural molding or millwork around the edges of the wall panel system or in connection with the existing walls of the room.